Venice Fashion Week Kicks off with "The Very Last Layer" by Romi Loch Davis

Giulia Mazzon in "The Very Last Layer" by Romi Loch Davis - Photo: Cat Bauer

(Venice, Italy) Venice Fashion Week kicked off with L'Ultimo Spessore (The Very Last Layer), a poignant tableau vivant by South African fashion designer, Romi Loch Davis. The standing-room-only audience at the intimate Magazzino Gallery of Palazzo Contarini Polignac was entranced as layer upon layer of Romi's unique designs were revealed until only an elegant chemise remained.

It was a poem created from fabric.

CONSTRUCTIONS ...    INTERIORITY

you tailored a robe

of many colours for me

a biblical gesture

layer by layer

piece by piece

texture by texture

the seams were painfully frayed

weak defenses

tacked together

like crests

almost scars

you were engraved in me 

---Romi Loch Davis

L'Ultimo Spessore by Romi Loch Davis - Photo: Cat Bauer

Romi's wistful text was read by actress Rosanna Mantese, while the haunting notes of  violinist Luisa Bassetto accented the story of lost love and the discovery of hidden fire: "The ultimate depth. The regenerating footprint of love." 

Giulia Mazzon moved from fragile-and-desperate to brave-and-hopeful as Luna Pesce removed each layer of clothing, attaching and detaching angel wings... a gauntlet... a crown.

Skeleton of my Soul from L'Ultimo Spessore by Romi Loch Davis - Photo: Cat Bauer

Perhaps the most moving passage was a section entitled SKELETON OF MY SOUL, in which the model was stripped down until she wore only a seamstress's pattern, "the essential layer, the underlying layer of myself..."

Romi Loch Davis (right) with Gigi Bon - Photo: Cat Bauer

It was a beautiful start to Venice Fashion Week, now in its ninth year, which has been growing ever more impressive. A project by Venezia da Vivere, "Venice Fashion Week presents sustainable, tailored, Made in Italy and international fashion through fashion shows, conferences and exhibitions taking place in hotels, art galleries, boutiques and artisan ateliers."

Venice Fashion Week runs through October 26 and is part of Le Città in Festa cultural program of the City of Venice, and actively shares the #enjoyrespectvenezia commitment. Go to Venice Fashion Week for the calendar, map and further information.

Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog